Massage may initiate tendon structural changes--a preliminary study

Abstract

Background: Physical exercise is now a widely known and studied factor of the proper functioning of living organisms. Many questions remain unanswered concerning various aspects of the changes in the morphology of structures subjected to chronic physical exercise.

Materials and methods: This study was conducted on fifty Buffalo strain rats, randomly divided into two equal (experimental and control) groups. All animals were subjected to physical training on a running track for 10 weeks, whereas only in the experimental group, massage was additionally applied five-times per week.

Results: An increase in the percentage of collagen fibers in tendons with the smallest diameter (≤100 nm) was observed only in the experimental group in week 3, followed by a decrease in weeks 5 and 7. A subsequent repeated increase was observed in week 10 of the study. No significant differences were observed for either study group in the number of collagen fibers based on fiber diameter (101-200 nm, 201-300 nm and 301-400 nm).

Conclusion: The results of this preliminary study showed that long-term massage performed during running training may initiate for small structural changes in the rat tendon. Further morphological studies with prolonged observation periods are recommended.

Keywords: Physical exercise; connective tissue; electron microscopy; massage.